"O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself
a king of infinite space,
were it not that I have bad dreams."
- Hamlet
Act II scene ii

19 April 2012

Located

Have you heard? On her way to Blogland, New Zealand blogger Dame Katherine de Chevalle was the only survivor of a tragic plane crash. She is on an island somewhere west of the Thaiiland/Burma border. This aftenoon I showed her i-phone pictures to a couple of Burmese fishermen who had tied up at the Robert Brague Memorial Wharf.

Straight away, the older fellow - gnarled and salty - became very excited. He'd recognised the island. "Pulau Bada! Pulau Bada!" he kept yelling. We showed him an old map of the Burmese islands - there are hundreds of them - but within thirty seconds his ET-like finger indicated Pulau Bada due south of Blogland. I reckon it is probably about twenty five miles off the most southerly point of our wonderful island world and not to be confused with the Indonesian island of Pulau Banda.

We waved goodbye to the two fishermen and headed back to the social club to plan Katherine's rescue. I wondered if our new nation's naval vessel would be up to the job. It's just a large inflatable with an outboard motor. It came secondhand from a lifeboat station in the picturesque Welsh coastal village of Rhyl Regis. The Development Committee thought it would suffice for a while but there was never any expectation that it would ever voyage big distances on the open ocean.

Nevertheless, we're going to risk it. The idea of such a talented artist and expert muffin baker wasting away on an uninhabited island is too much to bear. It's getting dark now but when dawn comes and if the sea is calm enough, we'll be off to rescue Katherine....

Did you manage to blow up that boat all on your own? It must have taken a bit of a puff.

I though you should know that our alternative travel route west instead of east to join you has come to s shuddering halt in Las Vegas. I'm trying to win enough money to pay for the remaining part of the journey, but it isn't going well. Try as I might, I haven't found one casino that plays nine card don or cribbage.

EARL GRAY "Great Pile of Shite" would make an excellent title for a book...not about adventures in Blogland but maybe chicken farming in Wales or geriatric nursing.ARCTIC FLUX That's an old picture. I didn't recall that you'd boated in the Gulf of Thailand. Hello sailor!JENNY Hang on! I'm in Blogland. Wrexham is 6600 miles away. Katherine's island is just 25 miles away. There's no way that little inflatable would have made it half way round the planet.SHOOTING PARROTS You're right. It did take a bit of puff. I delegated the job to Earl Gray's houseboy - Maung. Good luck in the casinos of Vegas - you'll need it!

I have no idea the name of this island, but if you have found it, I am delighted! I will wait in excited anticipation on the beach all day today, although my nose has already peeled once despite my palm-frond hat. By the way, I have discovered I am not alone! A turtle came to my beach yesterday! He was good company for a couple of hours. I have noticed I've started talking to myself, but that's understandable I guess.I've been drinking a bit of seawater, not too much, and found a bit of plastic flotsam that makes a little water underneath that I can lick off, if I put it over a hole with fresh vegetation in it. Looking forward to being rescued!

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